Color negative/positive photographic systems in use today are designed to produce pleasing prints for most of the people in a target population. The print appearance includes both pleasing tone and color reproduction to produce colorful prints with good contrast, and particularly excellent skin tone reproduction. Typically, existing photo systems are designed to be optimized for a particular skin type and preference. For example, Caucasian, Oriental, Asian, Indian, and/or Black. Photographic film, paper, and printer sets-ups are generally designed for providing pleasing color for a particular market segment. In taking photographs of an individual of a first skin tone type with a system designed for a second skin tone type, the skin tones of the first skin tone type will appear undesirable. For example, in a system designed for Caucasians, individuals having a darker skin tone will result in the darker skin tones appearing compressed. This often results in the facial features being lost in an overly dark representation.
It is possible to design a photographic system that is optimized for dark-tone skin tone reproduction. This can be done by adjusting the photographic film, paper, and/or printer set-ups. However, this kind of system would not produce optimum light-tone skin tone reproductions. Solving the problem in this manner would still result in the inability of a single system to produce pleasing skin tone reproduction, regardless of the lightness of the skin tones in the scene. Marketing two different films would increase marketing and inventory costs, and potentially lead to confusion in the customer's mind about the circumstances for use of the different systems.
With current photo systems, the only option available for improving the reproduction of skin tones, which the system is not designed for, is to adjust the print density and color balance during printing. Neither of these adjustments produce preferred prints because they alter the reproduction of portions of the scene that are not skin tones.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,974 to Stephenson discloses a system that allows the camera user to record the color balance preference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,954 to Inoue discloses a system involving a video image in which the customer selects a preferred color balance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,737 to Fredlund et al describes a system for controlling photofinishing of photosensitive material.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,488,429 and 5,638,136 to Kazuaki et al describes a method and apparatus that detects skin tones in an image.
Thus, there is a need to provide an economical photographic system that can be adjusted to compensate for different skin tones in accordance with customer preferences without concern as to the tone characteristics of the originating film or providing a plurality of different film types, each being directed to a different skin type. There is also a need to provide a system wherein the customer and/or photo lab can select manually or automatically the desired skin tone characteristics. There is also a need for a method by which the customer can determine a preference in both color and density and convey that preference to the photofinisher so the preference can be acted on in the making of the print. In the case of an automatic printing device such as a kiosk or an electronic display, a means is needed to automatically convey the customer's preference to the device so the preference can be acted on in the making of the print or in the displaying of the image.
Another problem occurs when changing the skin tone pixel values in a region that is a subset of a human face or figure. As in the case of a dark skinned individual, the skin tone pixel values of a light skinned individual in the same scene whose skin is in dark shadows may inadvertently be changed.
In a system made in accordance with the present invention, a solution is provided for eliminating and/or minimizing the problems of the prior art that can improve images provided on conventional photosensitive media, or in digital format. Print algorithms are provided in a digital photofinishing system, which changes the appearance of the skin tone in a print to a selected preference. The preference may be obtained by a selection option provided or detected on the film processing order, encoded on the film itself, or carried out automatically by the photofinisher providing a specific skin tone preference desired in a region of a country and/or world. The skin tone adjustment can be one of one or more selections available in the algorithm, or accessed from a customer profile.